Packaging and dispensing of soft plastic foods



| PETERS 2,750,294

PACKAGING AND DISPENSING OF SOFT PLASTIC FOODS June 12, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet l a 4 J J Filed June 2, 1953 mmHHH M I l H M a )w. w

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United States Patent PACKAGING AND DISPENSING OF SOFT PLASTIC FOODS Leo Peters, Evanston, Ill.

Application June 2, 1953, Serial No. 359,151

8 Claims. (Cl. 99-171) This invention relates to the packaging and dispensing of soft plastic foods, particularly in molded or surfaceornamented shapes. The term soft plastic foods as used herein is intended to include such foods as butter, margarine, ice cream, sherbet, processed cheese and cheese foods, jellies and gelatins, candy, puddings, meat spreads and other foods of similar physical properties.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application United States Serial No. 176,634, filed July 29, 1950, and of my co-pending application Serial No. 200,058, filed December 9, 1950, and now Patent 2,666,710, issued on January 19, 1954.

I have heretofore disclosed the idea of molding, carrying, and dispensing soft plastic foods in reversible pockets formed of thin, flexible film. This application discloses a further embodiment and improvement of this type of package structure and method of packaging and dispensing soft plastic foods.

It is an object of this invention to provide a soft plastic food package from which the food body can be dis pensed in a novel manner. It is also an object of this invention to provide a novel method of packaging and dispensing soft plastic foods. Further objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

' The method and package structure of this invention are illustrated in three specific embodiments in which Figs. 1 to 4 show one embodiment, Figs. to 8 show the second embodiment, and Figs. 9 to 13 show the third embodiment. Figure 1 is a perspective view of a complete package; Fig. 2, a transverse sectional view of the package of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a perspective view showing one preliminary step in dispensing the food body from the package of Figs. 1 and 2; and Fig. 4, a perspective view similar to Fig. 3 showing a further step in dispensing the food body. Figure 5 is a perspective view of the complete package; Fig. 6, a transverse sectional view of the package of Fig. 5; Fig. 7, a perspective view illustrating a preliminary step in the dispensing of the food body; and Fig. 8, a perspective view similar to Fig. 7 illustrating a further step in the dispensing of the food body. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the complete food package showing the package partially withdrawn from its carton; Fig. 10, a perspective view showing the main elements of the package in separated relation; Fig. 11, a sectional view of the package as it would appear within its carton; Fig. 12, a perspective view showing a step in dispensing the food body; and Fig. 13, a perspective view similar to Fig. 12 showing a further step in dispensing the food body.

In one of its phases, this invention is concerned with a soft plastic food package characterized by the combination of a relatively rigid support providing an opentcpped cavity, a reversible pocket formed of thin, flexible film carried by said support and extending downwardly into said cavity, and a soft plastic food body within said pocket. characterized by the fact that the reversible pocket is freely separable from the supports, whereby the food The food package of this invention is further body can be dispensed by first separating the support and then reversing the pocket about the food body. In the preferred embodiments, the support is equipped with an upper edge about the top of the cavity, and the pocketproviding film has its periphery resting on the upper edge of the support, the film in its entirety being unconnected to and freely separable from the support.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, I provide a tube support 10 which may be of cardboard, laminated'board, plastic, molded pulpwood, or any suitable material. The purpose of .the tube 10 is to provide a support for the structure which will be described.

Supported by tube 10 is a liner or film 11 which may be formed of metal foil such as, for example, aluminum, tin, or any of the metal foils. It may also be formed of treated papers which have suflicient stiffness to retain their shape while at the same time being bendable to permit the cup receptacle to be reversed for the removal of the food. For this purpose, the paper may be stiffened with materials applied thereto. Also plastic or thermoplastic films in stiffened form may be produced from polyvinylidene chloride, the polyamids, and various cellulose derivatives, as well as from combinations of these various materials.

The metal foils are particularly useful for this purpose, since they can be molded, pressed, drawn, bent, and creased to hold almost any conceivable shape. Perpendicular lines can be reversed or changed to horizontal, and sharp lines and clear patterns can be made which will hold the soft plastic food in the desired shape without any other supporting means. At the same time, the foils can be withdrawn easily and peeled oif the food without difliculty. I

The liner 11 may be draped or crimped over the compartment or tube wall 10 and the upper edge of the liner may be bent outwardly and downwardly to provide an annular flange 12 which serves as a hook for securing the liner firmly upon the support 10. It will be understood that the support 10 may be square, rectangular, or of any desired shape, and that the material 11 may be readily bent to form a tight gripping flange 12 about the sides of the support. The weight of the contents bearing down on the liner keeps the liner firmly held upon the top of the support while at the same time the stiffness of the foil or other material forming the liner 11 causes its flange to grip the top of the support 10 and the gripping thereof around the top of the support keeps it from being pulled away from the support.

Because of the stiffness of the foil, the direction. of the downward pull, which is substantially perpendicular, and the reversed direction on both sides of the wall, and the bent and creased position of the foil that grips the support, the foil itself will tend to break before loosening its grip upon the wall as long as the wall is in the normal upright position. At the same time, the figured portions of the liner and its contents are kept free from contact with the compartment walls, regardless ofthe jars and bumps received in transit and use.

When, however, the container is inverted to remove the contents, the foil slips loose and readily frees itself from the wall, under the weight of the food contents, thus leaving the liner alone, with the contents on the re-- ceiving dish 13, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The peripheral flange 12 at the top edge of the liner or film (which becomes the bottom edge when it is on the receiving dish 13) now provides a handle or gripping member which may be grasped by the consumer to peel the member 11 free from the contents. The foil may be retained 'to cover up unused portions of the food contents after the meal, the tube or support 10 being thrown away.

I prefer to provide the container with a closure or film cover 14, as illustrated best in Fig. 2, and preferably one side of the film is extended laterally and downwardly to provide a pull-tab 14a. The cover 14 may be formed of metal foil, plastic, treated paper, or other suitable material, and may be secured to the top of the package, as illustrated, by the use of adhesive or other suitable means.

In the operation of the structure, the cover 14 is stripped from the container and the container may be inverted as illustrated in Fig. 3, to allow the liner 11 and the food contents to fall on the dish 13. The consumer may then grasp the outer edge portion 12 of the liner to remove it from the food contents, as illustrated in Fig. 4.

In the illustration given in Figs. to 8, inclusive, 15 designates a container which may be formed of any suitable material. I prefer to employ a molded pulpwood container or similar structure which is porous and in which the pores are quite small and distributed uniformly or widely over the area of the container. A thermoplastic film has been stretched downwardly by drawing it through porous container 15 to form a tight-fitting liner 16 and the lined container has also been filled with a soft plastic food 17. The top of the container is closed with a cover 18 formed of an aluminum foil sheet or other metal foil or plastic film. It will be understood that any suitable covering material may be used for closing the top of the container and the material may be secured to the flange 19 by crimping it about the flange or by securing it to the flange by heat-sealing or an adhesive, etc.

When it is desired to remove the contents of the package, the cover 18 is removed and the container 15 inverted. Since the liner 16 is not attached to the container 15 or to its flange 19, the entire contents and the liner 16 attached thereto are readily deposited upon a receiving plate, etc. or surface, as illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. The liner 16 may be stripped from the deposited molded food, as illustrated in Fig. 8 by progressively reversing the liner.

In the foregoing operation, it is found that the molded food within the liner is thus deposited without any marring or distortion upon a dish or other surface and upon the drawing of the film 16 therefrom there is left a delicately molded product which is intact and unmarred.

It is next desired to discuss the embodiment of Figs. 9 to 13. In this embodiment, as shown more clearly in Figs. and 11, the container for the soft plastic food body consists of a vertically-extending, open-ended, tubular support 20, a reversible pocket 21 formed of thin,

flexible thermoplastic film, and a cover film 22 of thermoplastic material. As shown more clearly in Figs. 11, 12, and 13, pocket 21 tapers generally inwardly and downwardly from its mouth or top to the bottom thereof. Pocket 21 is also provided with an upper peripheral portion or annular lip 21b which rests on the upper edge of tubular support 20, but is unattached thereto. As shown in Fig. 11, the rest of pocket 21 extends downwardly within support 20 at a spaced distance therefrom. If desired, the filled container can be placed within a carton 24 as illustrated more clearly in Fig. 11.

The procedure for dispensing the food body from the package illustrated in Figs. 9 to 13, is similar to that for the package structures previously described. The package is removed from the carton and cover film 22 is peeled off. The package is then inverted on a horizontal surface, for example, on a saucer 25 as illustrated in Fig. 12, and the tubular support 20 is removed. Thereafter the lip 21b of the film pocket is grasped with the fingers, as illustrated in Fig. 13, and progressively reversed about the food body so that it is dispensed without marring its ornamented outer surface.

While in the foregoing specification the method and package structure of this invention has been described in relation to certain preferred embodiments thereof and many specific details have been set forth, -it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that the invention described herein is susceptible to other embodiments and that many of the specific details set forth can be varied widely without departing from the basic concept of the invention.

I claim:

1. A soft plastic food package characterized by the combination of a relatively rigid support providing an open-topped cavity, a reversible pocket formed of thin, flexible film carried by said support and extending downwardly into said cavity, and a soft plastic food body within said pocket, said pocket being freely separable from said support, whereby said food body can be dispensed by first separating said support and then reversing said pocket about said food body.

2. A soft plastic food package characterized by the combination of a relatively rigid support providing an open-topped cavity and having an upper edge about the top of said cavity, a thin, flexible film having its periphery resting on the upper edge of said support and providing a reversible tapered pocket extending downwardly within the cavity of said support and having ornamented surfaces, and a soft plastic food body within said pocket conforming to the shape and ornamented surfaces thereof, said film in its entirety being unconnected to and freely separable from said support, whereby said food body can be dispensed by first separating said support and then reversing said pocket about said food body.

3. The combination of claim 2 in which said film is a metal foil and the said peripheral portion thereof is crimped over the upper edge of said support but is unattached thereto so that the pocket provided by said metal foil is carried by the support while the support is freely separable from the metal foil.

4. The combination of claim 2 in which said support provides a tapered cavity receiving and conforming to said pocket while being freely separable from said pocket at all points.

'5. A soft plastic food package characterized by the combination of a vertically-extending, open-ended tubular support, a reversible pocket formed of thin, flexible, thermoplastic film disposed within said support and tapering generally inwardly and downwardly to the bottom thereof, said pocket having an upper peripheral portion resting on the upper edge of said tubular support but being unattached thereto to permit said pocket to be freely separated from said support, and a soft plastic food body within said pocket conforming to the shape thereof.

6. The method of dispensing a soft plastic food body from a package of the type wherein the food body is contained within a reversible pocket and said pocket is carried by a support while being freely separable therefrom, characterized by the steps of separating said support from said pocket, and then reversing said pocket about said food body to dispense said food body.

7. The method of packaging and dispensing a soft plastic food body, characterized by the steps of supporting a tapered reversible pocket on a hollow tubular member with the body of said pocket within said member and containing a soft plastic food body, said pocket being supported without being attached to said member so that said member and said pocket can be freely separated, thereafter separating said member from said pocket, and then reversing said pocket about said food body to dispense said food body.

8. In a soft plastic food package, the combination comprising a flexible cup formed of metal foil and having an annular flange around the top thereof, a support disposed about said cup and carrying said cup by means of a loose engagement with said annular flange, said cup being readily separable from said support when said cup and support are inverted, said cup having a bottom wall providing upwardly-extending portions, and a soft plastic food body within said cup conforming to the shape thereof and pressing downwardly against the upwardly-extending portions of said bottom wall, said metal foil being of sufficient stifiness to prevent the upwardly-extending portions of said bottom wall from being depressed by the downward pressure of said soft plastic food body while being sufiiciently flexible to permit said cup to be peeled oif of said food body after said support has been separated from said cup.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A SOFT PLASTIC FOOD PACKAGE CHARACTERIZED BY THE COMBINATION OF A RELATIVELY RIGID SUPPORT PROVIDING AN OPEN-TOPPED CAVITY, A REVERSIBLE POCKET FORMED OF THIN, FLEXIBLE FILM CARRIED BY SAID SUPPORT AND EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY INTO SAID CAVITY, AND A SOFT PLASTIC FOOD BODY WITHIN SAID POCKET, SAID POCKET BEING FREELY SEPARABLE 